David Auerbach of Slate explains how telecom companies are now making customers pay for privacy. It seems like we’re getting closer and closer to a dystopian corporatocracy every day.

Finally, we deal with social media shaming and flame wars, which have become something of a regular topic for this blog. First up, Laura Miller of Salon has an in-depth interview with Jon Ronson, author of So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed. Next, Fredrik de Boer writes about how women are disproportionately harmed by online scuffles. Finally, comedian Patton Oswalt recently went on a Twitter rant about the shaming of comedian Trevor Noah. I might write a piece about this kerfuffle, so I’ll keep it brief here. I think Oswalt is gliding over the fact that Noah’s tweets were both hacky and offensive. That being said, I have to question the motives of anyone who spends their time digging through someone else’s social media history just to find something incriminating.

I usually write better commentary, but I’m too lazy this week. Them’s the breaks, kids. See you next week.